The Mysterious and Strange Stockton Chronicles
by Mithlomiel
Summary: What do you get with a modified memory, news that your five best friends are dead, and there are five exchange students who look exactly like your five dead friends? Read and find out!!! Please R&R!
1. Returning Memories

Chapter 1: Returning Memories  
  
September 1st was usually a day of joy for Jo. She loved to get on the Hogwarts Express and chug off to her school. She would see her friends and they'd all play Exploding Snap or Wizardboard on the train, and just be happy. They'd buy Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavour Beans from the lady with the trolley and they'd be quivering with excitement.  
  
.But this year, things were going to be different. For one, Jo felt immensely awkward as she said goodbye to her parents and boarded the train. For another, Jo couldn't find any of her friends in the entire train. And she also couldn't remember anything.  
  
She couldn't remember anything from the summer, to be exact. She could remember the last few days of August, but nothing before that. It was strange. She found an empty compartment and shut herself in there and fell fast asleep.  
  
When she awoke, it was dark growing steadily dark outside. She yawned heavily and put on her school robes, assuming that the train was nearing the school. Then she just sat there, trying very hard to remember, but all she could draw was a blank.  
  
Suddenly the train came to a halt. Jo peeped out the window to see the familiar outlines of the castle and the flickering lights in the village of Hogsmeade, but only dark woods stared back at her. She was even more puzzled when the sliding door of her compartment was opened and she found herself face to face with a Ministry member.  
  
"I think this is her!" yelled the man to his colleague outside. Utterly bewildered, Jo got up.  
  
She asked, "May I ask what is happening?"  
  
"Stockton, right? Josephine Stockton?" the man asked, running a hand through his matted hair.  
  
"Er, yes. But why all-" she never got to finish her sentence because two other Ministry officials dragged her out of her compartment, while the man who had asked her name brought Jo's heavy trunk.  
  
She was brought to another empty compartment by the engine.  
  
"What's this all about?" asked Jo angrily.  
  
"We need to talk," said the man with the matted hair.  
  
"About WHAT?" yelled Jo. She was getting very upset about all this.  
  
The man waved his hand to his colleagues and they left. Then he sat down opposite Jo. The train slowly started rolling forward.  
  
"If you'd please let me in on this!" Jo yelled, frustrated.  
  
"Ms. Stockton," the man said gravely. "I need you to answer some very important questions."  
  
Taken aback by the seriousness in his voice, Jo found herself nodding slowly.  
  
"All right then. I would like to know what happened on July 1st of this past summer."  
  
Jo blinked. She thought back-but she couldn't. She tried again, but all she found was the recent events.  
  
"I-I can't." Jo shut her eyes tightly. When she opened them, she found the man's face lighting with interest.  
  
"Why not?" He asked.  
  
"I-I don't know." Replied Jo flatly. "I-I guess that-I.I don't know." She finished sourly, annoyed at her forgetfulness.  
  
"Ms. Stockton," the man got up and started pacing in the small compartment. "Do you realise that your memory has been modified?"  
  
"What?" sputtered Jo. "That's ridiculous."  
  
"Do you remember ANYTHING from the month of July?" asked the man, still curious.  
  
Jo stared at him but decided to tell him the truth. "N-no. I don't remember anything that happened except for the past few days."  
  
"I see." The man sat down again. "I see."  
  
"I must say, I don't understand anything."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You do?" Jo stared at him in surprise. "What do you know?"  
  
"Ms. Stockton," He turned to her, once again looking grave. "I believe.WE believe, that you witnessed a terrible thing."  
  
"What.terrible.thing?" asked Jo, her throat suddenly tight.  
  
"It has been plastered over the Daily Prophet and all the wizarding newspapers of the world, Ms. Stockton. The dreadful massacre of five Hogwarts students."  
  
"Five.Hogwarts.students." Jo found herself repeating, but she wasn't listening. She was hearing things in her mind.seeing things.  
  
Screams, cold, high, horrible screams.of a boy, a girl, another boy.another girl.another boy.. horrible, horrible.terrible.and then, she saw them.their faces! Their terror stricken faces with their huge mouths hanging open and their eyes wide and screaming in fright.and another sound mingled with the screams.. a cold, high-pitched laughter that chilled Jo to the bone.  
  
"Ms. Stockton! Ms. Stockton!" Jo heard a voice yell, but it was distant and far away.  
  
"Help, help!" came five voices but Jo couldn't bear it. She heard herself scream, a terrified, frightened scream, and then all was black. 


	2. The Horrible Truth

Chapter 2: The Horrible Truth  
  
When Jo opened her eyes, she found herself in a familiar room. She sighed painfully and tried to get up, but she couldn't. She groaned again and she heard someone coming over.  
  
"Dear, dear, she's waking up!" came Madame Pomfrey's voice. "Minerva! Minerva.call the gentleman and the Headmaster in please."  
  
Jo shut her eyes again, trying to remember what had happened, and she could. The train.she'd blacked out.  
  
She shivered and opened her eyes, only to find three more faces along with Madame Pomfrey staring down at her.  
  
"How're you feeling, Jo?" asked the Headmaster Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"Never better, sir." Jo smiled weakly.  
  
Madame Pomfrey helped Jo get up and brought over a goblet of medicine. Jo drank it in a gulp and winced.  
  
"Now, now." Scolded Madame Pomfrey. "It'll make you feel better."  
  
"I'm sure." Agreed Jo as the Nurse headed out.  
  
Jo looked around. Professor Dumbledore looked like he always did: slightly amused (though now he had a serious look), his twinkling blue eyes behind those silver spectacles, and his fatherly nature. Professor McGonagall looked very worried, very sad, and very tired. She looked so weary that Jo almost offered her the empty goblet she held in her hand.  
  
Then Jo turned to the man beside McGonagall. It was the man with the matted brown hair on the train. He too looked serious yet worried, but he gave Jo a small smile that Jo returned.  
  
"Ah now, shall we start?" asked Dumbledore with a small smile. "Good. Now Jo, I would like to ask you, what happened on the train?"  
  
Jo looked down at her empty goblet then back at the Headmaster. But she slowly said, "I heard my friends screaming in terror, sir."  
  
It seemed to Jo that Dumbledore's eyes flashed angrily, but they looked sad again after a minute.  
  
"Yes, Jo." He sighed heavily. "That is a grave matter, I'm afraid."  
  
"Sir, what happened to them?" asked Jo, though she knew what the answer was.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes were now sad and he sighed again. "They're dead, Jo."  
  
Professor McGonagall let out a sob.  
  
"They were such good students," She mumbled through her tears. "I-I can't believe there are inhumane people out there." She trailed away as she blew her nose on a satin handkerchief.  
  
Jo swallowed and blinked. She looked at the man with the matted hair and he was looking down and fidgeting with his wizard hat. Jo shuddered.  
  
"Polly, Frank, Alice, Bruno, and Jack.all gone." She muttered slowly.  
  
"It was a terrible tragedy." Dumbledore sighed once again.  
  
"Was it Voldemort?" asked Jo suddenly. Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"But WHY?" asked Jo angrily, tears stinging her eyes. "WHY?"  
  
"That, my girl," Dumbledore laid an aging hand on Jo's weak one. "Only time can tell." 


	3. A Catastrophic Dream

Chapter 3: A Catastrophic Dream  
  
Jo missed the feast, but Madame Pomfrey told her that she was better and she could return to her dorm the next day. She was given a plate of sandwiches and a goblet of juice to eat and she ate to her fill, though she felt empty after learning about her friends' deaths.  
  
And Dumbledore had said that it was all Voldemort's work. But why he wouldn't say. Only time can tell, he had replied instead. Whatever that meant, Jo didn't know.  
  
After her lonely dinner, Jo fell asleep almost instantly.  
  
"Jack.it's here I think.over here Jack." Said Jo as she ran through shrubs and bushes.  
  
"What? What is it?" came Jack's voice. He sounded breathless.  
  
"Over here!" yelled Jo and they came to a clearing. "You see?"  
  
"Oh my God, Jo!" Jack took in a sharp breath. "There's never going to be a way that we can get over there."  
  
"Jack.they're all over there. This is the only way."  
  
"I can't Jo. I can't."  
  
"Yes you can!"  
  
"No. No.it's a trap, Jo, I know it."  
  
"What do you mean, Jack?"  
  
"I-I don't think that this is-a good idea."  
  
"Why-you sound all afraid!"  
  
"I am!" Jack sounded very frightened.  
  
"But why?" Jo gave a short laugh. "Why are you afraid?"  
  
"Jo-Jo I think it's HIM!" Jack choked out.  
  
"Him? As in Voldemort?"  
  
"He's coming Jo. I can feel it.I CAN FEEL IT!"  
  
"Calm DOWN, Jack!" yelled Jo as he sprawled on the ground, completely losing his nerves. "You foolish boy, we'll be all right."  
  
"I'm not so sure," replied a foreign voice.  
  
"No! No-no-no-no-NO!" screamed Jack and Jo jolted out of her sleep.  
  
She was sweating all over and her pillow was drenched. Still recovering from her realistic dream, Jo got out of bed and poured herself a glass of water. She drank it, but when she was about to place it back on the night table, she missed and it crashed to the floor.  
  
Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She was still shivering as she sank back onto the bed. The Infirmary was dark and Jo felt frightened, even though she was in a safe place. To hear Jack's voice again.  
  
She shut her eyes for a moment and opened them again. Then she lay on top of the pillow, pulled the covers over her and tried very hard to sleep. Within minutes, her eyes were tightly shut. 


	4. Annie And Ross

Disclaimer: Okay, I was stupid and didn't put this up in my last three chapters, so PLEASE don't turn me in! Harry Potter was the wonderful and imaginative creation of J.K. Rowling, and I only own Jo Stockton, Annie, Ross, Brutus MacPherson, and Beck. Every other character that I use is J.K. Rowling's imagination (  
  
  
  
Chapter 4: Annie and Ross  
  
The next morning, she was discharged from the Infirmary. The first thing she did was she walked up to the dormitory that she'd shared with Polly and Alice the last year, along with two Seventh Years who had finished with Hogwarts. The room was not empty; it was full of stuff and four First Years who were sleeping peacefully occupied the four other beds. Jo's eyes fell to her bed, with her trunk standing at the foot of it. She immediately walked over to it and started emptying its contents out. She started pulling out her other school robes and stuffed them into the drawers of her dresser. Then she littered the top of it with whatever little knickknacks that she could find in the base of her trunk. Her blue knapsack was brought out and she filled it with her new schoolbooks and emptied her trunk of everything except for her Nimbus 2002 broomstick and her dress robes. Then she left the dorm for the Great Hall.  
  
The Gryffindor table was still a bit empty, but those who sat there looked quite sullen and it seemed to Jo that the entire Hall hushed when she entered. She sat next to a girl with fair hair who was gaping at her in amazement.  
  
"Er.is it all right if I sit here?" asked Jo.  
  
"I don't mind," said the girl feverishly.  
  
"Thanks." Jo spooned herself some porridge and started eating. She had her timetable in her hand and started reading it.  
  
"You're Jo Stockton, aren't ya?" asked a boy who sat opposite Jo.  
  
"Um.yes." Replied Jo, though she was getting bewildered. This was the fifth person who'd asked her if she was who she was.  
  
"Wow. I want to say that I am deeply sorry for the passing away of your friends. It's extraordinary how you came out of it!" He said, his eyes sparkling.  
  
Jo said nothing. She was inwardly thinking that yes, it WAS extraordinary that she came out of the whole thing alive.  
  
"Can you tell us how?" asked the fair-haired girl who was sitting beside her.  
  
"Well, I don't remember," said Jo shortly.  
  
The girl's eyes widened. "REALLY?" she asked, completely fascinated.  
  
"No, I don't." Jo was getting a bit afraid at the way her Housemates were behaving around her.  
  
"I'm Annie," the girl said. "I'm in the Sixth Year too."  
  
"I'm Ross." The boy introduced himself.  
  
"Are you Sixth Years also?" asked Jo, in complete amazement. "I'm so sorry- I seem to have forgotten practically everything!"  
  
"We ARE sorry about what happened to your friends," said Annie in a small voice. "I'd be-devastated.if something like that happened to me." She looked down at her plate of toast.  
  
Jo nodded slowly though she felt utterly empty inside. It was so strange; to be sitting here with two Sixth Years she didn't know very well instead of checking schedules with her friends.  
  
"What d'you have first?" asked Ross as he pulled out his timetable.  
  
"History of Magic," said Jo as she scanned hers once again.  
  
"Oh, me too!" exclaimed Annie. "Do you too, Ross?"  
  
"Yeah." The boy nodded. "Guess we can go together, eh?"  
  
Jo got up. "Shall we, then?"  
  
They left for their class, talking about other things, which Jo felt grateful for. It was a relief to not be talking about what had happened. And Jo STILL didn't have a clear view of that tragic day in July. 


	5. Classes at Last!

Disclaimer: Okay, I was stupid and didn't put this up in my last three chapters, so PLEASE don't turn me in! Harry Potter was the wonderful and imaginative creation of J.K. Rowling, and I only own Jo Stockton, Annie, Ross, Brutus MacPherson, and Beck. Every other character that I use is J.K. Rowling's imagination (  
  
Chapter 5: Classes At Last!  
  
From that day on, Jo, Annie, and Ross became good friends. Soon after, Jo felt completely at home, and she was recovering from whatever memories she held in her mind.  
  
She had even forgotten about the incident on the train until one day when she almost ran into the man with the matted hair, except now his hair was untangled and pulled together in the back in a ponytail.  
  
"Hullo Jo!" He said brightly to her. "How are you doing?"  
  
"Er fine, sir." Replied Jo, ushering her friends to hurry to Transfiguration.  
  
The man laughed. "I see you still don't know me yet."  
  
"I do not, sir." Answered Jo.  
  
"My name is Brutus MacPherson," he replied. "I work at the Ministry."  
  
"I assumed so."  
  
"I just came to see how things were doing."  
  
"Everything's fine, Mr. Macpherson."  
  
"Good. Er.I just wanted to give you this.in case you wanted to.you know." He broke off, chuckling nervously as he pulled out an issue of the Daily Prophet.  
  
"Thanks, Mr. MacPherson," said Jo, not glancing at the newspaper. "If you'll excuse me, I must be getting to class."  
  
"Of course. Take care, Jo, and don't get into any more fixes."  
  
Jo said nothing but smiled politely and hurried to her Transfiguration class. It was only after she sat down beside Ross and Annie (who'd saved her a seat next to them) that she unrolled the newspaper that Brutus MacPherson had given.  
  
Her mouth dropped open as she saw the headline: "FIVE TEENAGERS FOUND DEAD IN ROMANIA."  
  
There was a gruesome picture too, a picture that displayed unmarked bodies of her five friends.  
  
"Oh, Jo." Said Annie, looking quite horrified.  
  
"Ahem." Said a voice behind them. It was Professor McGonagall.  
  
"S-sorry, Professor." Mumbled Jo as she put the newspaper away.  
  
"Thank you." Said McGonagall crisply, though her eyes were shining. She then returned to her desk and faced the class. "Now! We shall start on changing raccoons into a handbag. This will be the practise for three weeks. I will have you take notes and record observations. At the end of three weeks, you will hand in to me an essay about the transfiguration, your notes and observations, and of course, your completely transfigured handbag. You will be graded on your neatness, your ability to observe, and of course, the transfigured raccoon itself, which is responsible for the majority of your marks. You will, naturally, work on other things during this project, for the Raccoon Project is only a classroom lab. Now, get into groups of four and you shall get your raccoons. Do not play with them, as they are not very friendly." She brought out baskets of raccoons. "They are a bit wild, as they were caught only yesterday. Now, for the majority of the hour, you shall work with the raccoons. I shall tell you when you should stop and return the raccoons to their respectable cages and we shall take notes on the transfiguring of animals into common household objects."  
  
Jo, Annie, and Ross decided to work together and a fourth person, a boy named Beck, joined them. He had dark red hair with green eyes and he greeted them cheerily.  
  
"Hullo, how're you all doing today? Mind if I join your group?" He asked.  
  
"Not at all," said Annie.  
  
They each received a raccoon and they started transfiguring, with help from their book, An Advanced Guide to Transfiguration by Samuel Krinsten. By the end of the hour, they had had little success in transfiguring the animal. Their raccoons didn't look anything like handbags.  
  
"I reckon my raccoon feels a bit like leather," remarked Ross as he stroked the animal's fur.  
  
"Yeah right," muttered Jo as she returned her raccoon to its cage. Then they returned to their seats and McGonagall started giving them notes.  
  
After Transfiguration, the group had Potions. They were making Alerting Potions that day, informed Professor Snape.  
  
"Alert!" He snapped as they took their seats. "A complex potion that requires a lot of careful planning and earnest work. You MUST, and I cannot imply it more, keep a close eye on the ingredients you add, if it is the correct temperature, and if you have correctly cut the daisy roots, the boomslang, and the shrivelfig! At the end of the class, I will test each and every one of your Alerting Potions. If you have done it correctly, you will get an hundred marks. If you do not, you will automatically fail." He grinned wryly at them.  
  
Jo looked at Ross and Annie. They returned her look with wide eyes.  
  
"We'd better do this right," whispered Jo as they took their belongings to start their potions.  
  
This was an individual assignment and Annie was very nervous. She was muttering under her breath and cutting her daisy roots very carefully and immediately the next moment, she'd be peeling her shrivelfig. Ross rolled his eyes at her and started peeling the skins off the boomslang as Jo boiled water for her potion.  
  
It took them about an hour and a half to fully finish the potion. Jo's was bright yellow and as it started frothing, she put off the fire and nervously waited for Professor Snape to start testing them.  
  
He had finished testing about quarter of the class when the bell rang. Snape gave a snort of disgust as he addressed them. "You will all empty your cauldrons into a glass jar and leave it on my desk. Write your names on the jar and I shall test it on you the next time we're in here."  
  
The class hurriedly did so as they rushed for Lunch.  
  
Only then, Jo remembered about the newspaper that Brutus MacPherson had given her. She hadn't finished reading the article, so as she ate her lunch of shepherd's pie, she read the article.  
  
FIVE TEENAGERS FOUND DEAD IN ROMANIA.  
  
By Modus Fillerbert  
  
In the grounds of the von Brunckst castle in Romania, the bodies of five British teenagers were found. They were undoubtedly dead, killed by the dreaded Avada Kedavra curse. The only survivor among them was a girl, aged sixteen, a friend of the five others. As she was examined by mediwizards, we learnt that her name was Josephine Stockton, and that her memory had been modified!  
  
"I-I don't know what you are talking about," She said blankly as we asked her about her friends' deaths. "They-they were fine, last I saw them."  
  
Jo blinked as she finished her shepherd's pie. She now could remember sitting in a small room filled with mediwizards and reporters, throwing questions at her. She remembered that she had been so drowsy, she couldn't speak properly even!  
  
She put the paper away as Beck joined their group.  
  
"That was hard, wasn't it?" He asked them as he bit into a roll. "The Alerting Potion?"  
  
"I reckon it was all right," replied Ross as he scratched out an essay for his Muggle Studies class.  
  
"I think I did pretty badly," whispered Annie as she sipped her soup. "I was so nervous!"  
  
"I'm sure you did fine," said Jo. "Mine was this sordid yellow colour.I reckon I did badly too!"  
  
They talked for a while about Potions and Care of Magical Creatures, their next class.  
  
"Reckon Hagrid's got some other fascinating animal today?" asked Annie as they started off for the grounds.  
  
"I don't know," shrugged Jo. For the past week, they'd been working on cobblywobbles, little creatures that had no fur on them. The cobblywobbles would shiver and nuzzle with their owner.  
  
"Today we'll be working with Mingies." Said Hagrid as they neared his cabin on the Hogwarts grounds.  
  
"Mingies?" repeated Ross uncertainly.  
  
"Yep, mingies." Hagrid brought out a crate of these mingies, which were creatures with snow-white fur and blue eyes. They were like fat little blobs, for they had no legs or feet. They just slithered or slid on the ground and were quite cuddly.  
  
"Thought you'd like 'em," said Hagrid roughly. "Good to be with, but they're a nightmare in their growin' stage."  
  
"Growing stage?" repeated Beck as he petted a mingie.  
  
"Yep. See tha'? Got no legs, them. Soon, they'll be a-sproutin' legs and all that, and they'll be getting a bi' discomforted. Don' like to grow, they don't. So, we'll be taking notes on them as they grow. These will most probably growin' in about three weeks. So until then, we'll learn about their eating habits, if they hibernate or not, and all tha'. You got it, mates?"  
  
The Gryffindors nodded in unison. They had Care of Magical creatures with the Ravenclaws now, which were quite a clever lot. After this class, Jo, Annie, Ross, and Beck headed for the castle as classes were over for the day. They walked straight to the Gryffindor Tower and settled themselves in the Common Room to start their homework.  
  
"So, we have to write an essay about the mingies?" asked Ross as he looked over all the essays and reading he had to do for the night.  
  
"Yes. I'm guessing they'll be in the Monster Book of Monsters?" said Annie as she pulled out her snapping book. But she had stroked it, so it was all right.  
  
"So then!" Beck said as he started scribbling on a piece of parchment. "Think McGonagall's going to have us transfigure any more animals?"  
  
"Gosh, I hope not." Annie shuddered. "I feel so bad for the little things."  
  
As the others talked, Jo pulled out the Daily Prophet again. Her throat tightened as she read about how she and her friends had been on holiday in Romania, to watch a Quidditch match when things had horribly wrong.  
  
She shivered and put it away. She started working on her Potions homework, trying to block all the other thoughts revolving in her mind. 


	6. An Unexpected Halloween

Disclaimer: Jocelyn Magus, thank you for your review! I'm glad you like it ( Ginny, I'm glad you like my story also, and yes, it's true, our RPGing skills have definitely helped us with writing fanfic! Well, me anyway! You are a great writer (the Uniting was GREAT!). Ahem, as you all know, Harry Potter was the wonderful and imaginative creation of J.K. Rowling, and I only own Jo Stockton, Annie, Ross, Brutus MacPherson, and Beck. Every other character that I use is J.K. Rowling's imagination. If I'm adding Chapters so bloody fast, do let me know (  
  
Chapter 6: An Unexpected Halloween  
  
The days flew by fast and it was soon Halloween. Jo, Annie, Ross, and Beck sat in the Great Hall during dinner two days before Halloween and discussed their first excursion to Hogsmeade.  
  
As they were talking excitedly about Honeydukes and Zonko's, the murmurs in the Great Hall subsided as Dumbledore stood up at the High Table.  
  
"Students, as you all know, Halloween is only two days away," He smiled slightly. "And I am very sorry for not announcing this earlier," the Hall buzzed in excitement as he said this, "but we will be having a few exchange students from Durmstrang on All Hallows Eve."  
  
Ross whistled. They hadn't had any foreign students in their school since.well, since a long time! Jo had personally never met a student from another school, let alone another country! She too immersed herself in conversing about the coming of the exchange students.  
  
"They will be staying," continued Dumbledore a little loudly, "until January. And now, Professor McGonagall has some words to say."  
  
Professor McGonagall stood up and cleared her throat. "Students!" She stated. "It has been emphasised before, and I shall do it again, please, please maintain order, respect, and behave when the exchange students arrive. This is not the first time it has been done, but it is always better to have things ready and alerted beforehand. I would, and I am sure the rest of the staff," She waved her hand and gestured to the other professors. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "will agree with me that we would really be pleased if you all would bring a note of pride to Hogwarts. But there goes to say that Hogwarts IS proud. Proud of every student it educates."  
  
The Great Hall broke into uproarious applause and then their plates were filled with food. Jo ate to her fill and grinned happily as she thought about the exchange students. She was very excited and wanted to learn about their school. Durmstrang, was it?  
  
The two days passed quickly, and it was Halloween. The unexpected news of the arrival of the students was taken as a matter to divulge in quickly. Argus Filch the caretaker had all the floors cleaned and sparkling and roared at anyone who made a smudge. The castle was decorated with giant pumpkins serenading the Great Hall and candles were placed on polished candlesticks. Jo had never seen the castle so beautiful and homey. She was very excited as she and her friends stood at the entrance of the Great Hall and waited for their guests to arrive.  
  
They had decided not to stay at the entrance of the castle as it was very chilly out, but they craned their necks as they heard murmurs down the corridor. And quite suddenly, the corridor burst with applause.  
  
"They must be here," whispered Beck to Jo. Jo nodded.  
  
The Hogwarts students made way for the Durmstrang exchange students to enter the Great Hall. Jo stood on her toes to see them, but there was a thick crowd and she couldn't see anything except a mass of brown, blond, red, and black heads staring back at her. Sighing in frustration, she waited until the crowd dispersed and she walked with her friends to the Gryffindor table.  
  
They took their seats and Jo saw that the Durmstrang students were spread out throughout the tables. She saw a couple at the Gryffindor table. She looked at the two at her table but just then, Dumbledore spoke again.  
  
"Ah, welcome!" He said, his eyes sparkling. "And it has been so long since we have had a visit from a foreign school. May we all give you a huge Hogwarts welcome?"  
  
The Great Hall burst into applause. The Durmstrang students smiled a bit.  
  
"Yes, yes, it is a pleasure to have you students amidst our own. We are hoping that you will have a fine, if short, four months at Hogwarts. If you ever have any trouble, please, do inform me or one of the staff." He indicated to the teachers behind him. "And of course, you shall be, er, SORTED, into your temporary Houses. Professor McGonagall," McGonagall stood up. "Has your names. After dinner, you will please follow her.  
  
"Now, I believe it is time that I shut my mouth and sat down to eat. So, please, tuck in."  
  
Food magically appeared on the plates and they ate to their fill. It was only as Jo chose a chocolate mousse for dessert that she remembered there were Durmstrang students at the Gryffindor table itself.  
  
She bent to see what the red-caped boy looked like and as he turned, Jo's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.  
  
It was Jack. 


	7. Is it Really Them?

Disclaimer: Jocelyn Magus, thank you for your review! I'm glad you like it ( Ginny, I'm glad you like my story also, and yes, it's true, our RPGing skills have definitely helped us with writing fanfic! Well, me anyway! You are a great writer (the Uniting was GREAT!). Ahem, as you all know, Harry Potter was the wonderful and imaginative creation of J.K. Rowling, and I only own Jo Stockton, Annie, Ross, Brutus MacPherson, and Beck. Every other character that I use is J.K. Rowling's imagination. If I'm adding Chapters so bloody fast, do let me know (  
  
  
  
Chapter 7: Is it Really Them?  
  
"Hey Jo, you look like you've seen a ghost." Said Beck as he waved a hand in front of her face. Acting with instinct, she slapped it down and he winced.  
  
"Take it easy, I'm sorry." Said Beck.  
  
"That wasn't nice, Beck." Annie glared at him. "After all Jo's been through."  
  
But Jo heard no more. She was still looking at Jack-WAS it really Jack? She decided to ask him later that evening. After dinner, she would speak with him.  
  
But that wasn't the case as he and the other Durmstrang students were asked to follow McGonagall to get Sorted. So Jo waited outside the room and told her friends to get to the Common Room. They did leave, though they seemed very suspicious in doing so.  
  
Jo waited for what seemed like eternity for the Durmstrang students to come out. When they did, she crashed into this burly boy.  
  
"Sorry." She quickly apologised, but he gave her a menacing look. Jo raised her eyebrows at him but he said nothing and walked away. She watched him go to this Slytherin prefect and they stood there, talking. Jo assumed that he had been sorted into Slytherin and she sighed.  
  
After a few minutes, a girl came out. Jo almost crashed into her too, thinking in was Jack.  
  
"I'm sorry," She said again and looked up at the girl and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.  
  
It was Polly!  
  
"It is all right," said the girl in an accent. "Euh, excuse me, are you from Gryffindor?"  
  
"Yes." Said Jo breathlessly. "Polly?"  
  
"Polly? Vhat is that?" the girl looked puzzled.  
  
"Isn't your name-Polly?"  
  
"No. It is Anya. I think you are confused about someone else." Anya frowned.  
  
"Well, um, sorry. I'm just-yes, I'm from Gryffindor."  
  
"Good. Vill you take me to the Common Room?"  
  
"Are there any others who are in Gryffindor?"  
  
"A few more. Four more, I think."  
  
"Oh." Jo sucked in her breath. She had a feeling that she knew who these four others would be.  
  
Three other boys and two girls came out and they walked to their other House representatives. Then came the boy who looked remarkably like Frank.  
  
"Ah Anya. Vhere do ve go?" He asked, a very heavy accent lining his voice.  
  
"She is here." Anya indicated to Jo. "Ve vill go in a minute."  
  
"Okay. I am Franz." He held out his hand and Jo took it, hoping that her hand wasn't shaking.  
  
Then came a few more students that went to other houses, and then finally came the doubles of Jack, Alice, and Bruno.  
  
"This is Kaila," said Franz as he introduced Alice to Jo. "Christophe," that was Bruno, "and Marc." That was Jack. Jo eyed them all quietly and felt as if her heart was about to burst.  
  
"You're not.Alice? Polly? Jack, Frank, Bruno?!"  
  
They all gave her strange looks.  
  
"Are you our guide to Gryffindor?" asked Franz, looking very confused.  
  
"Yes I am." Said Jo, though now she was weary. "Um, come on."  
  
They followed her, very warily, as if she would turn around and put the Unforgivable Curses on them. But she didn't. They found that she was tired and somewhat surprised to see them. As if she-knew them already.  
  
"Here you go. The password is 'Aurora Borealis.'" The Fat Lady's portrait door swung open.  
  
"Aurora Borealis," repeated Marc as he entered the Common Room. "Thank you."  
  
"N-no problem." Jo said feverishly. "Um.good night."  
  
But she didn't go to her dorm.  
  
"Oy, Jo!" came a voice. "What are you up to, eh?"  
  
She turned to see Beck, Ross, and Annie working on their homework. Half- heartedly, she walked over to them and sat down.  
  
"What's up?" asked Annie.  
  
"You look totally drained. You taken a trip somewhere?" asked Ross.  
  
"No. I-well, I brought the Durmstrang students that belong in our House up here." She indicated to the five red-caped students staring around at the comfy Common Room.  
  
"They look oddly familiar." Said Annie, frowning.  
  
"Do they?" asked Jo wearily. "I'm not surprised." She fished out the copy of the Daily Prophet that Brutus MacPherson had given her a few weeks back and handed it to Annie. Annie's eyes widened.  
  
"Impossible!" she exclaimed.  
  
"They said they're not Jack or Polly or Bruno," explained Jo, blinking out tears. "But-then how could they be here?"  
  
"I don't know Jo," said Ross, frowning. "There's something very strange about this."  
  
"You think I don't know that?" snapped Jo. "I've had my memory modified and I don't remember a bloody thing except that my friends died and I have no idea how it happened. It helps a lot too, that they're actually here, in flesh and blood, but they're NOT my friends. Well then, who the hell ARE they? Ghosts? Well, I don't think ghosts can come and speak and look solid. And they definitely cannot have been raised from the dead! So, can someone here tell me what in all the hell is strange about this?"  
  
Her friends looked taken aback. So far, Jo had seemed like an easy-going, if sad, person and she never, ever yelled. This was certainly a turn.  
  
"I'm going to bed." Said Jo. "And if you want to talk with me, please don't do it now. I have to get back to a dorm full of first years and I must smother myself to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
She turned on her heel and left.  
  
"What was that all about?" whispered Beck.  
  
"I don't know," said Annie. "I've never seen her so angry!"  
  
"It's okay." Ross put his hand over Annie's shoulder. "She'll be fine. It's- a horrible shock!"  
  
They said nothing after that but tried to concentrate on their homework. But Jo's angry words came back to their heads. Yes, how DID these five supposedly dead students come back to life? And as different people too. Sooner or later, the answers HAD to come to them. 


	8. The Golden Chamber

Kart, Hema, and Kavi, thanks for your reviews. Glad you like my strange tale hehe. Ahem yes. The very existence of Harry Potter and his cool world is the creation of J.K.Rowling (thanks so much, Ms. Rowling!!!) and I own only Jo, Beck, Ross, Annie, Jo's friends (don't feel like writing their names at the moment), and Brutus MacPherson. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 8: The Golden Chamber  
  
The next morning, Jo sat wordlessly next to Beck at breakfast. He said nothing either, and the same went to Annie and Ross. They all ate their breakfast in silence. Soon, the Great Hall swarmed with people and Jo found herself craning to see the Durmstrang students in Gryffindor.  
  
"So, what'd you have first today?" asked Ross coolly to Annie.  
  
"Defence Against the Dark Arts, I think." Replied Annie and her voice shook slightly. Jo got off her chair and picked up her bag. She turned to leave when Beck spoke up.  
  
"Are you feeling all right?" he asked.  
  
"Why shouldn't I be all right?" said Jo, her voice rising.  
  
"You just seemed really-well, I was wondering if you felt any better after last night." He smiled a little.  
  
"I'm fine." Answered Jo. "I have to get to a class, so excuse me."  
  
She turned her heel and walked towards History of Magic. She felt horrible for talking to Beck that way but at the moment, she was still feeling bitter towards them and for what reason, she did not know. She entered Binn's class and took her seat. The class started in five minutes and a few minutes later, Jo's head was on the table, fast asleep.  
  
The castle was immensely tall, with huge grey stones as the building block. There was a drawbridge and it led the way to the mournful opening of the castle. Dark woods surrounded the castle in every corner and it was nearing dusk. Jo gazed at the entrance curiously and walked towards it. She hesitantly stepped over the drawbridge and walked into the castle.  
  
As she came off the bridge, it was lifted up and closed. Jo was suddenly enveloped in darkness.  
  
Then, out of the blue, torches lit up around her. They filled the room with brightness and warmth and Jo picked a torch out of its stand.  
  
There were two passages leading out of the main hallway. Jo trusted her instincts and turned to the right corridor. It was not well lit and Jo was thankful for her torchlight. She kept on walking in this narrow hallway, unaware of where it ended. After what seemed like an hour of trudging upon this stony lane, she came to the end. There was a door and Jo hurried to it.  
  
The door was locked! Jo placed the torch in an empty stand and pulled at the door with all her might. She dug in her robe pocket to get her wand but it wasn't there! Frustrated, Jo gave one more tug at the door and it gave in. It opened with a huge force and Jo was thrown back.  
  
Groaning, she got up and picked up her torch again. She was now led into a strange circular room. It was absolutely bright though there were no candles, torches, or any device to light the chamber up. Jo felt an odd shiver go through her as she gazed around this room.  
  
There were two doors in this room, one leading to the left and the other to the right. But at the moment, Jo was mesmerised by the brightness of this room.  
  
She walked up to a wall and touched it. It felt intensely cold but Jo didn't remove her hand. The walls shone with an amazing light and Jo moved her face very close to the wall and her eyes widened. This was gold! The room was golden!  
  
She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. For what purpose was she here? She shut her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she let out of a cry of surprise.  
  
Six people were now in the room. And there was another Jo with them.  
  
"What in the world?" she exclaimed but no one seemed to hear her.  
  
"Oh-what do we do?" asked a girl with light hair. It was Polly.  
  
"I don't know," replied Frank, biting his lips. He seemed unsure of what was coming next for them.  
  
"Where ARE we?" asked Jo, speaking for the first time. "What IS this?"  
  
"It's-so bright," answered Jack. "It glitters."  
  
"Gold." Said Bruno and he laughed. "This is gold!"  
  
"Beautiful." Said Alice breathlessly. "What can this mean?"  
  
"I don't know," Polly said, shaking her head. "But-I don't think we should stay here anymore."  
  
"Polly." Jo turned to her and said in an irritated tone, "Why are you being so pessimistic? Can't you see where we ARE? We're in a GOLDEN ROOM!"  
  
"I see that!" retorted Polly. "Now look, this isn't good. I definitely don't think that we should be here. We HAVE to find a way out of this. Now!"  
  
"Polly, what--?" Frank asked, but he didn't finish his question. All of a sudden, there was a blast of cold air and the Jo that was against the wall shivered. She had a very bad feeling about this.  
  
"Say goodbye to Polly!" came a horrid voice and the next minute, there was a high shriek and Polly was gone!  
  
"Polly?" said Jo, now frantic. "Oh, where did she go?"  
  
The others looked at her with wide eyes. "She's been taken," said Alice weakly. "V-Voldemort-he's taken her!"  
  
The group was now panicking openly.  
  
"We've got to get her back!" yelled Frank through all the noise.  
  
"How do we do that?" said Bruno shortly. "We don't know where Voldemort is hiding in this castle. Damn, how in the world did we ever get stuck here?"  
  
"Coincidence?" suggested Jack gloomily. He was sitting with his back against the wall, where the real Jo was standing.  
  
"We have GOT to find her," said Frank firmly. "We have to. I mean-come on! She's stuck with Voldemort!"  
  
"She'll be okay, Frank," replied Jo in a shaky voice. "She's got through scrapes before."  
  
"Well, not like this one!" screamed Frank. "She's NEVER ever been in such a hostile situation. Jo, we've been rescued before. But right now, we're playing cat and mouse with a resurrected Dark wizard in a castle in Romania. Now tell me, how many Dumbledores, Aurors, and parents are with us now? I'd rather have us go NOW to find Polly than sit here and be glum."  
  
"Frank," Jo was still shaking. "Frank, we have to calm down. Listen-we'll split up! We'll split up and then, then we can find her."  
  
"Are you mad, Jo?" asked Alice. "We can't split up! We'll never find each other in time! Oh, let's just listen to Frank!"  
  
"No!" exploded Jo. "If we do, then we'll all be in a trap, I know it!"  
  
"Be reasonable Jo!" yelled Bruno. "You're not making sense! Let's just listen to Frank, and we'll find Polly and we can get out of here!"  
  
"Bruno's right Jo," said Jack lazily. "Let's just go with him, okay?"  
  
Jo looked taken aback. She shook herself and said, "You don't think that splitting up is a good idea?"  
  
"Oh, if we want to get killed, sure, why not?" muttered Bruno sarcastically.  
  
"Well-fine, then." Jo swallowed slowly and nodded. "We'll-we'll go as a group. Go on Frank, lead the way." Jo gave him a firm look. He looked down.  
  
"Jo," Frank looked back at her again despairingly, "Just listen to me. I'm- I'm not saying that your idea is bad, it's just-it'll be better to stay together. We can all keep count of each other and know who's missing and well, you know." He trailed off and turned away again.  
  
"I didn't say anything," said Jo, her voice much higher now. "Lead the way, Frank. Let's go."  
  
Jack got up. Alice and Bruno came to Frank. But Frank was battling in his brain.  
  
"Well?" asked Jo, her voice raising more. "Let's go!"  
  
"No, no." Frank sighed heavily and shook his head. "I-I don't think that grouping together is a good idea."  
  
"You don't?" Alice gave him a sceptical look.  
  
"I don't." repeated Frank as he looked at Jo. Jo had a nonchalant look on her face, but he knew that she was satisfied. He was disgusted at his change in mind but he continued, "Bruno and Alice, come with me. Jack, you go with Jo. When we find Polly, we'll spark message, okay?"  
  
"Okay." Agreed Jo, and she took the door to the right. Frank took the door to the left. As the doors slammed shut behind them, the invisible Jo felt her heart sink.  
  
"Stupid, stupid," She muttered as tears fell down her face. "All my fault. If only I'd listened to Frank."  
  
"Ms. Stockton?" came a dreary voice.  
  
"Hey! Hey, wake up!" someone poked Jo's neck with the pointy part of a quill. She stirred, but only just.  
  
"Stop that." She snapped drowsily.  
  
"Jo, wake up!" hissed a familiar voice and Jo opened her eyes fully. Slowly the view came into focus: she was in her History of Magic classroom.  
  
"Oh!" She sat up with a start and found the entire class staring at her. Beck was on her side and he was giving her a dubious look. She shook her head at him and looked down at her desk.  
  
"Sleep well, Ms. Stockton?" asked Professor Binns. The whole classroom rang with laughter, which was a rare emotion ever felt in Binns class. Jo felt her cheeks turn red as she slowly nodded.  
  
"Right. Now, we will get back to the Dwarf Wars of 1325-1345. And if you would please, Ms. Stockton, pay some attention?"  
  
Jo nodded again as some snickers went around. She listened to the teacher and took notes, but the horribly sinking feeling that she was the cause of her friends' deaths stayed with her for the remainder of the period. 


	9. Time To Say You're Sorry

***I keep only Jo, Beck, Annie, Ross, and all the Durmstrang students (too many to name!!). Thanks Gayathri for your review ( Glad you liked it, and I promise, I'll have the Plumeria story e-mailed to you!!***  
  
Chapter 9: Time to Say You're Sorry  
  
As soon as History of Magic was over, Jo quickly collected her things and left the classroom. She was walking towards the Transfiguration hallway when she heard someone call her name.  
  
It was Beck.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked again, very seriously. "Is there something you want to talk about?"  
  
Jo pursed her lips and shook her head. She turned to go, but Beck didn't believe that she was really all right.  
  
"No, really," He said, catching up with her. "You seemed really upset after you, well, you woke up. If there's something bothering you, why don't you tell me?"  
  
"Might be because I don't want to." Replied Jo, turning and facing him. "Why don't you just leave me alone, Beck, and mind your own business?"  
  
She left him speechless and entered the Transfiguration classroom. The Polly and Frank look-alikes were in this class and she felt that sinking feeling return. She sat as far away from them as she possibly could and saw that when Beck entered, he took a seat by Polly. He started talking animatedly with them and Jo narrowed her eyes. What was he up to?  
  
Professor McGonagall got them working on their new project, which was to start turning leather into fur. Jo got up half-heartedly to the workstation and pulled out a piece of leather. To her utmost annoyance, she found that Beck joined her, along with Polly and Frank-er-Anya and Franz.  
  
"They're quite nice," whispered Beck to Jo. "I don't understand why you don't like them."  
  
"Well, let's see," said Jo, unable to restrain her sarcasm. "Maybe because- "  
  
Beck cut her off, saying, "I know, they look like your dead friends. Frankly Jo, I think you're avoiding them because you're afraid."  
  
"AFRAID?" hissed Jo. "Afraid of what? Afraid of getting chummy with those two?" She jerked her head sharply towards Anya and Franz, who were holding up their leather strips and raising their hands, trying to alert Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Ah!" The professor smiled as she came towards them. "Good job Ms. Dimitrov and Mr. Kokoshka. I see that you have completely transfigured your leather tail into a furry one. Full marks for this lesson!"  
  
Anya and Franz beamed as Jo's mouth dropped open.  
  
"How'd you do that so quick?" She asked the two Durmstrang students as they put their transfigured tails into a basket.  
  
"It's easy," said Franz with a shrug. "Vood you like some help?"  
  
"Yeah!" Jo nodded fervently. "I'm awful at this. Thanks!"  
  
Within twenty minutes, after asking McGonagall for a few more leather strips, Jo held up a perfectly furry strip.  
  
"Well, considering that you used up two more of my leather strips, Ms. Stockton," said McGonagall, peering at Jo's furry strip, "I'll give you 15 out of 20."  
  
"But it's furry!" complained Jo.  
  
"It deserves what I think it deserves," replied McGonagall severely and Jo shut up quick.  
  
"You did good," said Anya politely to Jo.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Jo shrugged.  
  
"So tell me," Beck joined in the conversation. "What's Durmstrang like? Better than Hogwarts?"  
  
"Oh, Hogwarts is very nice," Franz put in quickly. "Durmstrang is colder, but it is nice also. But ve are a leetle advanced in some magic."  
  
"Oh, so you've learnt turning leather into fur already. What else?"  
  
"Oh, zis was long, long ago! Fourth year, I think. But ve do lots of Dark Magic. You don't do much."  
  
"We defend against them, if that's what you mean," Jo pointed out. Franz shrugged.  
  
"Still, you could do much more advanced defence. But that is just vhat I think."  
  
The class was soon over and Jo walked with Beck to lunch, feeling much better. As she sat down next to Annie and Ross at the Gryffindor table, they immediately got up to leave.  
  
"Wait, what's the matter?" asked Jo quickly and they gave her glowering looks.  
  
"It's okay, Jo, if you don't want to talk to us, but if you're going to be all quiet, then we'd rather be at the library." Said Ross coldly.  
  
Well, they're taking it hard, thought Jo in sudden alarm. Better apologise to them!  
  
She gave Ross and Annie a weak smile and said, "I'm all better now. I'm- well, it was quite stupid of me to get all angry about what happened, but you know, it really hurts."  
  
"Why should it?" Annie asked shortly. Jo was even more taken aback because Annie was generally a nice person and she didn't get snobbish. So Jo smiled once more.  
  
"Well, if you sit down and listen to me, you'll know." She said hurriedly.  
  
Annie and Ross exchanged looks and gave her questioning looks. Jo glanced at Beck who was giving her a faint smile.  
  
"Well, it's not everyday that something like this happens," Jo started. "I mean, you come back to school with a modified memory and know nothing about what happened during holidays, and you arrive at school and you learn that your friends are dead. And two months later, you find out that people who look very, VERY much like your dead friends are living and well. My head is swimming. It literally is, and honestly, I just don't know what to do!" 


	10. What's Going On?

***I keep only Jo, Beck, Annie, Ross, and all the Durmstrang students (too many to name!!). I think it was Kart who sent me the most recent review. Gee thanks. I guess I should put more efforts on my story than school or my life. Thanks for the inspiration. LOL! I'm just kidding, Kart! I'm sorry if my sarcasm stung you, I'm so mean! But thanks for pulling me out of the water, I have got the story under control and I know what I'm going to do with it! So this Chapter's all for you (unless it was Kavi who asked me to write the chapters!!) Anyway! Have fun!  
  
  
  
Chapter 10: What's Going On?  
  
From then till Christmas holidays, Jo became friends with Anya, Franz, Kaila, Christophe, and Marc. They were all incredibly nice, though Marc was a bit moody and he was off by himself a lot.  
  
"What's the matter with him?" Jo asked as she sat down next to Beck. She was talking about Marc.  
  
Beck shrugged. "Don't know," He said. "He's been out of it for a while now." He got up. "Well, I'm off to Potions. See you later, Jo."  
  
"Yeah. 'Bye."  
  
Annie and Ross had already left, along with the other Durmstrang students, to their classes. Jo had been a little late to breakfast that morning because she had decided to sleep in. After all, her first class was Astronomy, and the class wasn't meeting until a quarter to nine, Professor Sinistra had told them. Snow was covering the glass at the observatory tower and they needed to charm the ice to melt. So the Astronomy students had while till they had to leave for class.  
  
Jo looked up from her toast to find that the Great Hall was slowly dwindling as its occupants left for their classes. She was surprised to see that Marc was still there until she realised that he was in her Astronomy class.  
  
"Hullo," She said as she sat down opposite him. "How're you doing today?"  
  
"I am doing all right," He answered, though he didn't sound very cheerful. He sounded as if he wanted Jo away.  
  
"So, how have you been settling in?" She asked, attempting to light up a conversation.  
  
"I have only one more week. I am leaving before Christmas."  
  
"So early? Well, I would've assumed you were staying until after New Year's. At least, that's what Dumbledore said."  
  
"Well, I must go meet with my family for Christmas."  
  
"Of course, of course. So, where does your family live? Mine lives near London, in a place called Berkshire Flats. It's a lovely place."  
  
"I am sure." He got up.  
  
"Leaving already?" Jo asked. "But we have time!"  
  
"You vill see, it is already a quarter to nine. Excuse me." He said and walked out of the Great Hall.  
  
Jo stared after him, confused. Shrugging, she slung her pack over her shoulder and hurried for Astronomy. It was indeed, a quarter to nine.  
  
"Today class!" Professor Sinistra boomed over the din of the students muttering about the upcoming holidays. "We shall be watching for more stars. Do remember, if you fall asleep, I shall have to zap you with a stinger so you shall wake up."  
  
The class groaned as at least ninety percent of it had been zapped in the last four months. The professor smiled and she continued, "Now go on to your telescopes. And remember, enjoy yourselves!"  
  
The class groaned again and Jo lagged herself to her telescope. She peered through it only to find that the same stars that she'd seen over the past four months remained, though now at different positions. She copied some of the down, but it wasn't long before she was fast asleep.  
  
"Come ON, Jack!" Jo hissed as they made their way through the tunnel. "We have no time to lose."  
  
Jack didn't answer. It was dark in the tunnel, save for the light coming from their wands, and Jo was leading the way.  
  
"I'm coming," Jack then replied. "Just keep going. I-I have a feeling we might be out."  
  
They walked on for what seemed like half an hour and then Jo shrieked.  
  
"What is it?" Jack asked in alarm.  
  
"I see a door!" Jo said and she ran towards it.  
  
"Help me open it!" Jo said.  
  
"ALOHOMORA!" Jack yelled and pointed his wand to the door. It opened immediately and he smirked at Jo.  
  
"Ah, what would we do without magic?" He asked.  
  
"We would've pulled it or pushed it," Jo reminded him. He shrugged lazily.  
  
They now came out upon a wooded area.  
  
"Where are we?" Jo asked.  
  
"I don't know." Jack said.  
  
The sun was setting in the distance. Jo could see chunks of light coming from between the trees in the wood.  
  
"Come on." She pulled on Jack's hand and took him into the woods.  
  
"I-I don't think that's a good idea, Jo." He said as he reluctantly tagged along with her.  
  
They rushed through shrubs and bushes and trees.  
  
"What's the point of HURRYING, Jo?" Jack yelled as he panted for breath.  
  
"We have to find Polly!"  
  
"God, stop Jo! I'm so tired…"  
  
He stopped for a moment, but Jo continued running through shrubs and bushes.  
  
Then suddenly, "Jack, it's over here I think—Jack."  
  
"What? What is it?" Yelled Jack. He sounded breathless.  
  
"Over here." Jo said as he came to her. "You see?"  
  
"Oh God Jo. There's never going to be a way we can get over there!"  
  
"Jack, they're over there. It's the only way."  
  
"I can't, Jo. I can't."  
  
They were standing above a low mountain, across a stream that dipped into a waterfall. The current looked quite strong and the water was deep.  
  
"It's the only way, Jack." Jo told him.  
  
"I can't. I can't."  
  
"Yes you can!"  
  
"No! No, it's a trap, I know it!"  
  
"Why, you sound all afraid!"  
  
"I am!" Jack's eyes shone with fright.  
  
"Why?" Jo came closer to him, a suspicious look on her face. "Why are you afraid?"  
  
"Jo! Jo, I think it's HIM!" He choked out.  
  
"Him?" Jo took a sharp breath. "Him as in VOLDEMORT?"  
  
"He's coming Jo. I can feel it. I can FEEL IT!"  
  
"Calm down, Jack!" Jo said, though she felt nervous herself. She felt cold all of a sudden and shivers ran down her spine. "You-you foolish boy, we'll be all right."  
  
"I'm not so sure." Came a sudden voice.  
  
Jo's eyes widened. Her heart almost stopped breathing as she saw the hideous figure crouching above her. The pale, chalky white face; the red, slitting eyes; the horrible face of Lord Voldemort.  
  
"No. No-no-no-no-oh my heavens, NO!" Jo screamed. "NO! NO!"  
  
And what frightened her even more was that a familiar face smiled at her. Jack.  
  
"I'm sorry." He said, though he didn't sound sorry at all. He was grinning widely as he pushed Jo over the edge of the small hill. Jo screamed as she fell and she felt the cold water hit her.  
  
She heard more screams, the screams of her other friends on the other side. She wanted to call to them, but when she opened her mouth, water rushed in and she spurted it out. She tried getting her head out of the water, but the current was pulling on her and she felt herself slip off the stream and down in the darkness of the waterfall… 


	11. Disbelief

***I keep only Jo, Beck, Annie, Ross, and all the Durmstrang students (too many to name!!) I'm on a roll! Hehe. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the previous chapter ( I'm supposed to be making pasta right now, but eh. I'll go down in a minute. Enjoy!***  
  
  
  
Chapter 11: Disbelief  
  
ZAP!  
  
Jo jolted awake. She felt the sting of the zap fill her and she shuddered.  
  
"Did you sleep well, Ms. Stockton?" asked Professor Sinistra dryly.  
  
Jo looked at the teacher with frightened eyes but she nodded weakly.  
  
"Good. Now, I would very much prefer it if you would get back to your work. You only have, oh, about fifteen minutes left. And I believe I made it clear that I want the star charts drawn by the end of this lesson."  
  
Jo nodded and she began on her starchart. But she couldn't concentrate. The last time she'd fallen asleep in a class and had a dream, she'd just felt horrible, because she had dreamt that SHE had been the cause of her friends' deaths! And now…now she had had a dream that it had been…Jack.  
  
Jo glanced at Marc for a split second and was terrified to see that he was staring at her. She felt a shiver go through her spine and she shook her head and turned away from him. She was frightened and remained so for the rest of the class.  
  
When the bell rang, Jo shuffled her papers and stuffed them hurriedly into her bag and leapt to go, but Professor Sinistra stopped her.  
  
"Are you feeling all right?" the teacher asked. "I've been hearing from most of your teachers that you fall asleep almost every time. Are you feeling ill? Would you like to go see Madame Pomfrey?"  
  
Jo gave the teacher a hasty nod. "Y-yes, please. I would like to see the nurse."  
  
"Very well. I shall inform your next teacher that you shall be late. And what do you have next?"  
  
"Nothing. Because Care of Magical Creatures has been cancelled because of last night's snowstorm."  
  
"Ah. Well, you'd better go see the nurse."  
  
"Yes. I will."  
  
All right. You may go."  
  
"Thank you, professor."  
  
Jo left the Astronomy Tower and bounded off the steps, feeling grateful that she had no class for the next one and a half hour. She was eager to let Annie, Ross, and Beck know about her dream. She now felt that all the answers had fallen directly onto her lap. But just as she was about to near the Common Room, she felt a hand grab her.  
  
She let out a small cry.  
  
"Hey, what's the matter?" It was Beck. "Are you all right?"  
  
Jo felt relief wash over her.  
  
"I-I thought you were…" She tried to say, but she felt weak.  
  
"Let's go in. I think Annie and Ross are there too."  
  
"Okay." She nodded and they entered the Gryffindor Common Room.  
  
"We're off for a while!" Annie said as she saw Jo and Beck coming in. "Let's play Snap!"  
  
"No." Jo said hastily. "I have to tell you something."  
  
Just as she was about to explain, the portrait door opened and she turned to see Marc entering. He gave Jo a stare as he continued his way up to the boys' dormitories.  
  
"What's going on?" Ross asked anxiously.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Jo slowly explained her dream. As she narrated each part of it, her friends' eyes grew wider and wider until Annie let out a gasp.  
  
"That's—scary!" She said finally.  
  
Jo swallowed. "It is. Oh my gosh, I—I really do need to see the nurse! If you'll all excuse me."  
  
She got up and left the Common Room.  
  
The corridors were now empty of students. Jo staggered towards the Infirmary, confused and still very afraid. As she neared the Hospital Wing, she became aware of footsteps behind her.  
  
But she did not want to look. She had a feeling that she knew who it was.  
  
She quickened her pace and the stalker did so too. Jo felt her panic heighten until she finally broke into a run. The hallways echoed of her running feet and she took a deep breath as she reached the Infirmary.  
  
"What is it, child?" Madame Pomfrey asked in alarm as she saw Jo leaning over a chair.  
  
Jo took a few more breaths before answering, "Headache."  
  
"I'll get you something to drink. But first, you sit down and take a rest. I'm sure this headache is from you just troubling yourself."  
  
Jo nodded quietly and sat down on an armchair while Madame Pomfrey went about to getting her the medicine.  
  
Jo closed her eyes and tried to relax for a moment. Then Madame Pomfrey said, "Can you get me the box of ginger root? It's on the table in the front."  
  
"Yes." Jo answered and she went up to the desk. The bottle of ginger root was very small and Jo picked it up. All of a sudden, she experienced a foreign feeling: a sudden jerk that almost threw her forward.  
  
It was not until she found herself holding the bottle of ginger root and standing outside a castle with grey stones that she realised that the bottle had been a portkey.  
  
"Welcome," came a familiar voice. And it had no accent. "To Von Brunckst castle again."  
  
Jo turned. It was Jack. Alias: Marc.  
  
***SO? What's a-gonna happen? We'll find that out soon…hopefully!!*** 


	12. Before the memory change

***Well, I'm finally getting out of my writer's block!! LOL. I hope you all enjoy these chapters. And please, please REVIEW!!! I want to know if you all liked my story, hated it, thought it was a bit drab, whatever! I want to know what you all think!!! Anyway, I keep only Jo, Beck, Annie, Ross, Frank, Jack, Alice, Polly, Bruno, and the others whom you've never read of in the HP books `cause they're mine. LOL. Have fun, y'all!!***  
  
Chapter 12: Before the Memory Change...  
  
Jo's eyes widened as she saw Jack's lip curve into a slight smile.  
  
"STUPEFY!" He cried and Jo fell down senseless.  
  
When she woke up, she felt a dim ringing in her head and she groaned. Her eyes hurt as she opened them.  
  
A yellow flame danced in a corner of the room. It was a torch. Jo looked up and found that the room was dusty and filled with spider webs. She tried to move away from the wall but she found that her hands were chained to the wall.  
  
She groaned and sunk back against the wall. What had happened? Where was she?  
  
Then it hit her. She was in that castle...Von Brunckst castle. And...that bottle...that bottle of gingerroot had been a Portkey...and she'd been transported here...and it was Jack.  
  
She let out a gasp. Jack. He was here! He had been the one that had brought her here!  
  
"Get me out!" She yelled. "Get me OUT!" She struggled from the chains but it seemed to her that they clamped more tightly against her wrists as she tried to pull away.  
  
Hot tears burst out of her eyes as she realised that this might be the end that this wasn't going to be another memory modifying experience. She felt the tears slip down her face and she felt herself slipping from reality...  
  
Footsteps! She sat up. She could hear heavy footsteps coming towards her cell. She looked up, her face wet of tears, her eyes wide in fear, yet they shined in silent determination.  
  
I'll get you Jack, she thought bitterly. Before I die, I'll get you.  
  
The footsteps stopped in front of her cell door. Her eyes were glittering madly and the door slowly swung open.  
  
I'm waiting, Jo thought. Come on. Come ON!  
  
The person stepped in. Jo thought her heart would stop beating.  
  
It wasn't Jack. It wasn't Voldemort. It wasn't even a Death Eater.  
  
It was Frank.  
  
"Frank?" She whispered in disbelief. He gave her a crooked smile.  
  
"It's so easy to fool you, Jo." He said softly as he came towards her. "I mean, I let you win at the Golden Chamber, I did an excellent job of being `Franz', and plus, you had it in your mind that it was dear Jack who'd gotten `rid' of us."  
  
"You bastard." Jo seethed. "You filthy--!"  
  
"No, no!" Frank held up his hand as Jo struggled from her chains. "You don't want to do that. Don't show your temper around here or else you'll be dead in a minute."  
  
"How could you?!" Jo screamed. "How could you do this?"  
  
"It was very simple, Jo dear," Frank said coolly. "Joining the Dark Side, killing the mudbloods, fooling Dumbledore...everything was easy as pie! But the most difficult part was how to fool YOU."  
  
Jo stared at him in fury.  
  
He continued, "It's well known that you're completely opposed to Lord Voldemort. Your grandfather and brother are Aurors, your parents work devotedly against the Dark Side, and you're half-Muggle! So, if we let one thing slip about our secret, then we knew our heads would be chopped off and the fate of the Dark Lord would change.  
  
"So we made a plan. And Lord Voldemort enjoyed it. He found us as brilliant strategists who would become his most endearing and faithful followers ever. And that's how Von Brunckst castle became our destination.  
  
"It was common knowledge that you were going to spend your summer holidays in Transylvania. You had boasted to the entire school how your grandfather had clutched a nice bargain in Transylvania and that he'd bought a pretty house to call the Summer home. So you decided to bring your friends with you during the holidays. And it couldn't have been staged better.  
  
"It was dull, extremely dull to spend time in that stupid house. Nothing to do, nowhere to go...we got bored so easily! But thankfully, our plan was going into action soon, and that is what kept us going in Transylvania.  
  
"It was your plan to go for a trek around the countryside and we eagerly agreed. Jack said that there was a castle nearby, almost ruinous but still standing and you were anticipated. But soon as we reached Von Brunckst castle, your excitement dwindled down. As soon as the drawbridge clamped shut, you knew we were in trouble. I think you almost suspected something about us being Death Eaters. But thankfully, you were too immersed in finding a way out to figure out the truth. And so we marched in that castle to get you out of the way. It was when we reached the Golden Chamber that we had to set the plan completely in action."  
  
"The Golden Chamber," Jo repeated sadly. "How could I have been so stupid?"  
  
"And stupid you were!" Jack laughed cruelly. "But your stupidity saved our conspiracy! Ah, I'm so proud of how I decided against my own idea to go as a group. Of course, your sudden suspicion about why I changed my mind did cause me to panic a bit. But you've always been proud Jo, proud as hell, and it helped us. You were glad that you'd gotten your way and you eagerly fell into the trap." Jack's voice was harsh now and brimming with evil.  
  
Jo was crying openly. "And I killed the others. I'm so stupid. How could I've let the others die like that? Polly, Alice, and Bruno. God, I'm horrible..."  
  
"Oh no, Jo!" Frank suddenly said. "You mean you haven't ENTIRELY gotten it?"  
  
Jo looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?" She asked tightly.  
  
Frank grinned. "That we're ALL part of it! Me, Jack, Bruno, Alice, and Polly! That's five against one! How about that, eh?"  
  
Jo felt as if she'd just been hit by a thousand bricks. 


	13. Reliving the past

***Hope you enjoyed the last chapter! I'm getting around to finishing it :D  
  
And please, please review! I want to know if you liked my story, hate it, think it's drab, or could do better...whatever!! I want to know your opinions! And I keep only Jo, Beck, Ross, Annie, Jack, Frank, Polly, Alice, Bruno, and Brutus MacPherson. Everyone else was put in the stories thanks to J.K. Rowling's books!! Well, enjoy this chapter! I'll put the next ones ASAP!***  
  
Chapter 13: Reliving the Past  
  
"Would you like to see them?" asked Frank eagerly.  
  
Jo said nothing. She felt as if the world was going mad, that everything was a dream.  
  
That's what this is She thought faintly, A horrible dream. A nasty dream  
  
But it wasn't. Someone roughly shook her from her thoughts and she fearfully looked up. It was Jack.  
  
"Are you enjoying your trip, Jo?" He asked mockingly. Jo spat on his face.  
  
"I hate you," She said dangerously. "I HATE YOU!"  
  
A girl laughed. Polly had come in. "No Jo," Polly said quietly. "We hate you. Why, you didn't even come to save me!"  
  
Jack, Frank, and Polly started laughing.  
  
"That was brilliant, wasn't it Jo?" Jack asked. "The Dark Lord was so kind in helping us. He snatched Polly, just like that, and it was so believable!"  
  
"You've got no hearts!" Jo yelled.  
  
"Why do you say that, Jo?" asked Bruno as he entered the small dungeon. It was cramped with people now, and Jo felt suffocated. "Do you even know why we left to the Dark Side?"  
  
Jo didn't want to know. She felt as if she'd vomit if he said anything more.  
  
"It was because we were so tired of being good, wasn't it, Bruno?" came Alice's voice. "I mean, there's always that choice between Good and Evil. Hm, let's look at Good's advantages: Ministry, Auror, and no power! Evil, we have killings and oh, will you look at that! Lots and lots of power! Just what we needed."  
  
"And to kill innocent people?" Jo demanded in a raspy voice. She was losing her voice from shouting and her crying incessantly didn't help much.  
  
"Jo dear," Jack tipped her chin. "They aren't `innocent people'. They've hurt is in every way possible."  
  
Frank added, "And the Muggles aren't any better, are they? The MUDBLOODS? Why, our Dark Lord's father was one, and when he found that his wife was a witch, he dumped her. The Dark Lord was disowned by his own father."  
  
"So you play for his bitterness?" Jo cried.  
  
Jack slapped her.  
  
"You learn to shut up now. SHUT UP." He yelled. "I think you're trying too hard to keep alive. You'll never get us back to the other side. We were TIRED of hiding, tired of stupid plans. An Auror killed my father because he was suspected of aiding the Dark Side. My father never went against the Ministry or even Mudbloods. Because of suspicion, he was killed." He turned away.  
  
"Oh Jack." Jo bit her lip. "I'm so sorry..."  
  
"Don't even begin to pity him," Alice said shortly. "It happened just before Easter last year. And you didn't even care to ask him."  
  
"How was I supposed to know?" asked Jo hoarsely.  
  
"By being a friend," snapped Polly. "You never cared, Jo. It was you, you, and only you. Never anybody else."  
  
Jo stared at them. They all looked angry, betrayed, yet sad.  
  
"So it was never just because I would find out?" Jo asked softly. "About your joining the Death Eaters?"  
  
"No." Bruno said harshly. "It was never about that. If you had found out, we'd have killed you in an instant."  
  
"It was because of your high-mindedness," Frank put in. "We hated you, Jo. You were rich. Your family had power. And your family is made of Aurors."  
  
Jo bit her lip. "If only I'd known..." She began to say but Jack stopped her.  
  
"Yes, Jo. If only you'd known."  
  
Jo looked down. The entire room was quiet for what seemed like eternity. Then Frank let out a hollow laugh.  
  
"I still can't believe you lived after that fall," he said. "That was quiet a high waterfall and the rocks at the bottom would've ripped you apart. How you lived..."  
  
He didn't say anymore. And even Jo wondered; how DID she get out alive? It was a question that had bothered her the whole time since she'd returned...  
  
Her thoughts were disturbed as she heard footsteps. They weren't the heavy footsteps of Frank, but more light and slow. They seemed to relish each step they were taking and Jo felt a stab of fear for the first time. She had a dark, foreboding feeling...  
  
The footsteps stopped. The door was open.  
  
And in came Lord Voldemort. 


	14. Reminiscing

Harry Potter belongs solely to J.K. Rowling. I merely enjoy writing fanfiction about that wonderful world. (  
  
  
  
**~Hello everyone! Okay, so I'm rewriting the ending, forgive me to those who actually enjoyed the tacky previous Chapter 14, the 'Duelling' chapter. So, this is a new one, and I'm completely throwing out the duelling idea. Sounded bad to me from the beginning to me anyway! I'll be getting rid of some of the old stuff in the later chapters, the ones after Chapter 10, I believe. So, be patient, I'll get all this stuff worked out soon and a new ending will be in, hopefully.  
  
Please READ AND REVIEW!!! (R&R). Enjoy!~**  
  
Chapter 14: Reminiscing  
  
"So," came a raspy hiss. "This is Jo Stockton."  
  
Jo squeezed herself to the wall, the clamps on her wrists pulling her down in their weight. She cringed as the tall, snake-like figure approached her, his wand twirling through his fingers.  
  
"This is her, Master," said Jack steadily. "We have finally caught her."  
  
"Ah yes, how unfortunate that you were accidentally let go the last time," Voldemort glanced sideways at Jack, who looked down uncomfortably. Jo's eyes flicked between the two, trying to understand what Voldemort had just stated.  
  
"What do you want from me?" Jo asked in a hoarse whisper. Voldemort laughed softly, a cruel and mirthless laugh that sent shudders down Jo's spine.  
  
"I want you to know a story," Voldemort answered, "A very unbelievably atrocious story that will make your hair curl. It is a story about a little girl who was vacationing last summer in Transylvania. She came with her friends," the Dark Lord gestured to the five behind him, "but left alone. The whole world came to see that her five friends were dead, yet she had escaped. How? No one knew. She herself did not know. Do you want to know why?"  
  
His eyes were narrowed dangerously yet inquiringly and Jo slowly nodded. She DID want to know. She wanted to know what really had happened.  
  
"Ah." Voldemort smiled slightly. "Explain, Frank."  
  
Frank stepped forward. He gave Jo a cold look and began. "We were ordered to kill this light-sider, this one who believes that our Dark Lord is a menace and should be defeated. She is from a rich and powerful family, composed of half-bloods. Her grandfather is an Auror, working actively to pull spies from the Ministry. She herself, is an almost exact replica of her grandfather, vowing to get rid of the Dark Force."  
  
Alice continued, "We lured her to the von Brunckst castle, where we devised a plan to eliminate her. Our plan was to make her assume that we were being chased by the Dark Lord himself and that we were trapped. She is proud and got her way, and we made sure we did not seem suspicious in any way. When Polly disapparated, it was decided that we would split up to 'look' for her, and that was Jo's idea. Frank's idea was the best idea, but since we were on a mission, we took Jo's suggestion and split up."  
  
Bruno picked it up from here. "Frank, Alice, and I went separately, where we met with our Master and discussed the final step to take in the elimination of Jo Stockton. We were to bring her to the top of a steep waterfall, and we were to push her down. Frank, Alice, Polly, and I were to be on the other side, pretending to be frightened. And Jack would kill her."  
  
"I brought her to the grounds," Jack said in a low voice. "I brought her outside and she immediately spotted where the others were. She made her way there, but I began to pretend that I was getting afraid of the Dark Lord coming after us. I knew Jo was beginning to feel the fear, and she felt the effect of the darkness starting to surround her. And as she began to hear the cries coming from Frank and the others, she began to step backwards towards the precipice of the waterfall. That was all I needed. The job would be finished. But when she keeled over, something happened. I felt the urge to pull her out and save her, but by the time she was out, she was unconscious. My Master, I had disappointed you, but I vowed to make it up."  
  
Jo stared at them in slight bewilderment. She had been so stubborn, so proud, and she had almost lost her life. And Jack…JACK had saved her! She faced him, sending him a puzzled look, and asked, "Then…the Daily Prophet…you all looked so dead!"  
  
Voldemort laughed and Jo jumped, realising that his presence still revered the room.  
  
"Ah, that is the beauty of the Polyjuice Potion," He murmured in his silky voice. "I only needed five people, Death Eaters whom I didn't think were eligible to be part of the Dark Force, and gave them the potion with poison. As soon as they drank it, they changed, and the poison which was to work slowly, killed them."  
  
Jo felt slow tears come to her eyes. "I can't believe you would all do such things!" She cried. "It is inhuman and…dirty!"  
  
"As if you light-siders are so perfect!" Bruno snarled. "You've killed enough innocent people to be put on trial."  
  
Jo said nothing. What he said was true, and it was best to keep quiet.  
  
"Jo Stockton," Voldemort neared her again. "It is time."  
  
"T-time?" Jo stuttered. "Time for what?"  
  
She felt a huge weight leave her right arm. The clamp was off. Then the left one and then the ones on her feet were removed and she finally felt free. She rubbed her wrists to ease the pain and felt something thrown at her.  
  
Her wand.  
  
She picked it up and when she looked up, she found six pairs of eyes staring sternly at her.  
  
"Jo Stockton," Voldemort stated, "It is time for you to die. But of course, you have done a heroic feat, you have dodged death! However, this time, you shall not be so lucky. But because of that amazing show, we will let you have a few words. Maybe even try to fight and leave. But in the end, your carcass will be littering the floor and we will finally be finished with you and we can carry on to other things."  
  
"Am I to fight?" Jo whispered, her eyes shining with fear.  
  
Voldemort smirked. "Perhaps. But here's a bit of good news for you: I shall not be involved with any of this. This is fun for the five and only the five. I have to leave for some important business back in England. So, the worst of luck to you, Jo Stockton. Good day, my dear Death Eaters."  
  
Frank, Alice, Polly, Bruno, and Jack bowed humbly to their Master as Voldemort disapparated.  
  
"Now," Frank hissed. "It's only you against us. Let's see how this goes." 


	15. Blast from the Past

Harry Potter belongs solely to J.K. Rowling. I merely enjoy writing fanfiction about that wonderful world. (  
  
  
  
**~Here's the NEW Chapter 15!!! I'm finished with re-writing the story, so I hope you like this better! I have to thank my RPG-ing Harry Potter club for this, which always springs up new and cool ideas to write about and that kind of helped me think out a new plot of this one. Hope you like the rest of the story and please READ AND REVIEW!!~**  
  
Chapter 15: Blast from the Past  
  
"I don't want to fight," Jo whispered soon as Voldemort left. "I don't want to fight you. Just let me go."  
  
"Let you go?" Bruno laughed shortly. "So you can tell the Ministry where five Death Eaters are hiding? I think not!"  
  
"I won't tell, I promise!" Jo pleaded. "If you let me go, I'll be forever grateful."  
  
"Grateful?" Alice spat. "We don't want you gratitude. Your gratitude is nothing to us."  
  
Jo stared at them with frightened eyes. What was she to do? The spells she knew weren't advanced enough to duel them. They were powerful Death Eaters and she was a mere student with a wand. What could she do?  
  
"Let's make this memorable," Jack suddenly said, his eyes glinting. "IMMOBILIS!" He cried and cords sprung out of his wand and tied Jo up. "Help her up, Frank. Let's take her to the grounds. You know."  
  
Frank looked puzzled for a moment but after reflecting upon what Jack was talking about, he smirked and nodded.  
  
"Of course." He said and turned to Jo. He grinned maliciously, pointed his wand at her, and said, "STUPEFY."  
  
When she came to, she found that she still could not move; she was still tied up. But a warm breeze was blowing upon her face, something that was different from the cold and dank air in the dungeons.  
  
She slowly opened her eyes and blinked as she let the sunlight stream into her eyes. It was near sunset and it was dark and green all around her. And it looked so familiar…  
  
"Remember, Jo?" came a sharp voice. It was Jack. "Still just as you left it."  
  
Jo started. The grounds of the von Brunckst castle. This was where she was 'almost' killed.  
  
"We're doing a reenactment," Alice said, her voice dripping with glee. "Only differences are, you'll know what's going to happen, Polly, Bruno, Frank, and I won't be on the other side, and Jack isn't going to save you this time. Right, Jack?"  
  
Jack nodded. "Time to say you're sorry," He muttered as he flicked his wand and Jo slowly floated up, still bound by ropes.  
  
"You—you wouldn't," Jo said weakly. "Don't…please don't…"  
  
"Why not?" Polly questioned, tapping her chin with her wand. "Don't waste our time, Jo. Bruno!"  
  
The brown haired boy came forward and smirked at Jo. "CRUCIO!" he bellowed and Jo screamed in pain. She felt as if a thousand needles were pressed into her body and she felt as if it would last forever! And the ropes that bound her intensified the pain and all she could do was whimper until they'd stop.  
  
And all of a sudden, the pain was gone. She dropped to the ground and moaned. She heard faint laughing around her and a surge of anger ran through her, but she was defenceless. Her wand was in her robe pocket, but she couldn't get it. She could do nothing.  
  
"Come now, Jo, it wasn't THAT bad, now was it?" Frank asked, chuckling. "Now, try THIS on for size!"  
  
"Wait!" Jo cried. "This…this isn't fair."  
  
"What isn't?" Jack asked with a smirk.  
  
"The…the fact that you're torturing me when I can't do anything."  
  
Alice laughed. "That's the point. You're not supposed to be able to do anything. You're a mouse and we're the tigers. Fair isn't part of our vocabulary."  
  
"Give me a chance," Jo said tightly. "This isn't fair!"  
  
"Didn't you hear what she said?" Polly asked icily. "We're not fair. We're cruel, cold, heartless. And that's how you're going to die. Jack!"  
  
"Ah, is it time?" Jack grinned wickedly as he flicked his wand at Jo and it pushed her all the way to the edge of the cliff that dipped into the waterfall. Jo gasped. She'd forgotten all about this!  
  
"Look at those pretty jagged rocks," Bruno commented. "They're waiting for you."  
  
"Up," Jack murmured lazily as Jo's body flew up into the air. She felt her stomach churn. The waterfall rushed down at great speed and crashed onto the rocks with a roar. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of death.  
  
She faced Jack.  
  
"Please," She pleaded. "Just let me go. I won't say or do anything…I'll leave you all alone."  
  
"That's the worst sort of bribery I've ever heard of," Frank jested. "Go on, Jack, do her in."  
  
Jack didn't reply. He was looking at Jo, a light in his eyes, and not moving.  
  
"Jack." Alice said tightly. "Come on, finish the job."  
  
Still, he didn't move.  
  
"Damn it." Polly swore. "Don't be a fool, Jack! Don't like the last time!"  
  
But he didn't answer and he didn't move. He stood there, transfixed, and at the very edge of the cliff.  
  
"Oh bloody hell," Bruno whispered. "What's he doing?"  
  
They all looked at him with bewildered eyes as he stepped closer to the edge. One more step and he'd fall to his death.  
  
"NO!" Polly shrieked and ran to him. "Don't!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him away. She gasped as she felt his arm. It was rigid and cold.  
  
"What's happened?" Alice asked worriedly.  
  
"He's so cold!" Polly whispered. "He's not responding to us!"  
  
Her eyes flickered over to where Jo was still floating in mid-air, her eyes shut tightly as if trying not to view the bottom of the falls. Polly frowned. Why did Jack stop all of a sudden?  
  
"Jo!" Polly cried. "JO!"  
  
Jo opened her eyes immediately and as soon as she did so, Jack coughed.  
  
"Jack!" Alice exclaimed. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine," Jack muttered, moving away from her. "What're you all doing? We're supposed to finish this job!"  
  
They said nothing but gazed at him with puzzled looks on their faces. What just happened here?  
  
"Ready to die, Jo?" He asked nastily to the girl hanging in mid-air.  
  
"Please, Jack." Jo whispered one last time.  
  
"Good bye." Jack said, his lips curving into a mockingly sad smile.  
  
"NO!" Jo shrieked as he swished his wand and her stance in the air dropped. "NO!"  
  
Her screams echoed throughout the grounds and for a moment, Alice, Jack, Frank, Polly, and Bruno looked shattered. But the looks erased themselves as the screams died down.  
  
"It's over." Jack whispered. "It's all over."  
  
"Let's go." Frank said shortly. "The Master is waiting for us."  
  
"Right." Bruno nodded and he turned away from the cliff. Alice and Polly followed suit and they walked to the entrance to the castle. Jack's gaze did not waver from where Jo had been floating. Frank came up to him and shook him out of his trance.  
  
"She's gone, Jack." Frank said. "She's no more. We've got no more trouble."  
  
Jack chuckled slightly.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
There was a slight pause. Then, "Shall we go in then?"  
  
Jack didn't reply. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes went wide and he hissed, "Something isn't right. I can feel it…something isn't right!"  
  
"What isn't?" Frank asked, confused.  
  
"Can't you feel it?" Jack demanded, wrapping his arms around him. "I feel it. She's not gone…she's not gone!"  
  
"What?" Frank asked, frowning. "You're taking this a little too hard. You hated her!"  
  
"No." Jack shook his head, shivering slightly. "It isn't over. She's coming. She's coming right now."  
  
"Frank?" came Alice's voice. "Jack? Are you two coming?"  
  
"We are." Frank replied. "Right in a min—" He broke off and dropped to the ground, right on top of an unconscious Jack.  
  
"Frank?" Alice came running over and she stopped in mid jog. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped in frightened astonishment. "Jack?" She whispered, kneeling to them.  
  
There was a sudden rustling nearby. Alice looked up and she thought her heart would stop.  
  
"Jo?" She whispered dread. "What are you--?" She didn't finish the sentence. All she saw was a bright yellow light and then, darkness. She was dead.  
  
It wasn't long before Polly and Bruno came running over and found an alive Jo instead of their alive friends. They gazed at Jo with fear and shock. She was not wet, the ropes were gone, and there was a sort of glow about her.  
  
Jo waved her hand in front of her and the next moment, Bruno and Polly were heaped upon Alice, Frank, and Jack, dead.  
  
And then, all of a sudden, Jo collapsed too, next to the others, not knowing anything that had happened. 


	16. Understanding the Truth

Harry Potter belongs solely to J.K. Rowling. I merely enjoy writing fanfiction about that wonderful world. (  
  
  
  
**~The NEXT Chapter of the newly rewritten ending!! Yay! LOL. Hope you have a blast with one…not too different from the previously titled 'Scars', just some words and dialogue have been messed around with. ENJOY! Read and review please :D~**  
  
Chapter 16: Understanding the Truth  
  
Voices. All she heard was voices. Rushed voices, teary voices, frightened voices, grave voices…all voices.  
  
Where was she, she didn't know. Where had she been? She didn't know. Actually, she didn't want to remember.  
  
"I think she's awake," came a quiet voice. All the voices then were silent. She didn't like it. She felt it was an ominous silence.  
  
"Jo?" came an elderly voice. "Jo?"  
  
"Josephine?" came the teary voice. "Jo dear, wake up."  
  
"I think she deserves some more rest," came the voice of a woman who for once sounded unsure.  
  
"She's been sleeping for almost a week or more!" a boy's voice snapped.  
  
"Let her rest," came the deep voice of a man. "What happened is something that will be scars in her life forever. Let her rest."  
  
"No." The elderly voice protested. "She must wake. It is time for her to speak and tell us all that happened. Or else, no one will know."  
  
"Jo?" The teary voice now just sounded like someone with a cold. "Wake up, please dear."  
  
She didn't want to. She felt so tired, so weak, that all she wanted was rest. But there was no choice. She could not sleep. The voices had disturbed her.  
  
Slowly, uncertainly, she cracked an eye open. She saw the tired, worried, teary, stern, and grave faces of people around her. Professor Dumbledore, looking immensely grim, gave her a sad stare. Beck, Ross, and Annie lent her sympathising looks. Madame Pomfrey smiled weakly and raised a goblet filled with a pink liquid. Jo pursed her lips as she looked onto the faces of her parents, who looked sad, grim, and quite flustered. And then there was the stern face of Brutus MacPherson, who said nothing and gave nothing, but looked down at the ground, as if ashamed.  
  
"What's happened?" were the first words that came out of her mouth. She looked sleepy and confused, Dumbledore noted.  
  
He laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. "It is—something that should not have happened."  
  
Jo did not say anything. She waited for the Headmaster to continue.  
  
Dumbledore sighed and continued, "What happened—we know very little about it. We found that you were missing a few hours after your sudden…departure. Immediately we sent owls and trackers and we found you were in Transylvania.  
  
"We sent our best Aurors, including Brutus here," He waved a kind hand towards the man with the once again matted dark hair, "and we came…too late. We found you beside Jack, and for a moment, we feared you too were dead, but you were breathing."  
  
"But only just." MacPherson added solemnly.  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Now Jo," He looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. "Tell us EVERYTHING."  
  
"Everything?" Jo asked slowly. "There isn't much to tell, Professor. I was taken to the Von Brunckst castle by portkey. I was imprisoned in a dungeon and I met my former, supposedly dead friends and found out that they were all Death Eater converts. They told me all about how they'd faked their deaths and had tried to kill me so that they would not be murdered by the Aurors." Her voice was bitter now and her mouth was dry. "Then…I met with Lord Voldemort."  
  
There was a gasp and Jo didn't bother to learn who it was. She continued, "He told me nothing new and then said that Alice, Frank, Polly, Jack, and Bruno would deal with me and that he had to leave for England. Then, the others tied me up, took me to the grounds, and they made me float above a waterfall and let me drop."  
  
Dumbledore nodded. Jo looked down and when she looked up, Dumbledore said, "Go on."  
  
"Go on?" Jo repeated. "There's nothing to go on. All I know is…that much. And…and now that I think about it, I don't know how I could've escaped from those dagger like rocks at the bottom of the falls." She stopped as she saw the looks on each of their faces. "Is there something that…I'm missing out on?"  
  
There was an infinite silence in the small Infirmary room.Then with a heavy sigh, Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"We, uh, we did not find you at the bottom of any waterfall or washed up upon a river bank. We…well, we found you beside your…friends, who were all dead, and—you weren't in the least bit wet, if I might add, and you had no wounds upon your body…you had no appearance of having plunged into the rocky bottom of a waterfall."  
  
Jo didn't dare say anything. She felt as if anything she did say would be put against her. She was in disbelief.  
  
Dumbledore said, "I would like you, Poppy, and Beck, Ross, and Annie to please leave. Just, step outside. Mr and Mrs. Stockton and Brutus, please stay."  
  
The other three nodded silently as Madame Pomfrey, Beck, Ross, and Annie left.  
  
Then Dumbledore glanced at Jo and gently asked, "You don't remember anything after plunging into the falls?"  
  
Jo bit her lip and shook her head silently.  
  
"I believe you," the old man nodded. "but I don't understand how you might've gotten out of the falls…"  
  
"I was telling the truth," Jo whispered fearfully. "I fell into the water, I remember it. I felt as if I was being ripped apart, limb from limb. I thought I was dead. I really…really did…" She felt a tear drop down her cheek.  
  
"We know," Brutus put his hand on Jo's shoulder. "You're not lying. We know."  
  
Jo's mother laid a shaking hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Don't think we'd distrust you," She said. "You're a Stockton. Stocktons don't lie."  
  
"Oh Merlin!" Jo cried, sobbing harder. "How can you SAY that? 'Stocktons don't lie'…Mother, you don't know the obscenities the Aurors commit!"  
  
"Jo." Her father gave her a cold stare and she turned away.  
  
"We do not know what happened!" Dumbledore jumped in, trying to be the peacemaker. "We may never know. But just—just remember that Jo is all right and well."  
  
"But they're dead!" Jo burst out. "My old friends—they're gone!"  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "That…is regrettable."  
  
"Why did you tell me this?" Jo asked angrily. "Why did you tell me that I was found next to their dead bodies? Now I have to live with a guilt for the rest of my life, without knowing what I really did!"  
  
"Calm down!" Brutus said. "We'll find the cause of their deaths."  
  
"No!" Jo objected. "I would not want to know."  
  
Dumbledore heaved a sigh. "I, uh, I think that it is time Ms. Stockton is left alone. Mr and Mrs. Stockton, if you would please wait outside. I shall prepare your leaving arrangements immediately and I shall owl you of any further news."  
  
"Yes, of course." Mrs. Stockton nodded quietly and they both left.  
  
"Brutus," Dumbledore lowered his voice. "Thank you also. You may leave."  
  
"Yes." The young Auror left.  
  
Then, he turned to Jo and said, "Whatever happened, no one knows. If you yourself do not know…I cannot even begin to list the possibilities."  
  
"I would not want to know, Professor," Jo repeated. "It's hard enough to know that they're all dead. And by ME."  
  
"You do not know that you were the one responsible for their deaths."  
  
Jo looked down and replied, "Somehow…I have this feeling. This feeling that it WAS me. And that something happened as I fell into the water. I do not know what, but…I…" She broke off, unable to continue.  
  
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Now, I want you to stop feeling guilty about this. It's over. It happened. And they were Death Eaters."  
  
"They weren't doing anything wrong," Jo looked up with tears in her eyes. "They're the same as us."  
  
"No, they're not." Dumbledore contradicted her. "Jo, I'm not saying that we who oppose Lord Voldemort are good and that we are not cruel. We cannot live that way, or else we would have been taken over. We'd all be dead by now if we were all 'good'. Our Aurors are here to protect us, and although there are some who are very cruel and cold-hearted as the Death Eaters are, most try their best to be as human as possible. And remember, they are fighting to save the lives of those that are innocent. They are fighting for freedom from such oppression that Voldemort's reign, if ever it should be that way, would cause."  
  
Jo nodded.  
  
"I think that is all from me." Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Rest, Jo. You can take a few more days off."  
  
"Thank you, Professor." Jo said quietly.  
  
As he was about to leave, Jo said, "Professor?"  
  
"Yes?" He turned to face her.  
  
"Thank you." She said. "I—want to thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For making me see things differently. I have been one-sided all my life. I believed for a long time that the Aurors were good and the Death Eaters were bad. I was wrong, because Jack and all of them, they told me the truth about the Aurors…well, some of them. And after what you told me…and what I heard about Jack's father…"  
  
"That his father was killed by an Auror because of suspicion?" Dumbledore finished the sentence for her. Jo nodded.  
  
"Y-yes. From all that, I've…I've come to see there's no really good or bad side. I suppose that both have good and bad in them, but one side with a little bad and the other with little good."  
  
Dumbledore smiled.  
  
"That was all, professor." Jo said as she laid back down on her bed.  
  
"Yes. Rest well, Jo."  
  
"Thank you, professor."  
  
He left the small room and found that only Beck, Annie, Ross, and Brutus MacPherson were still waiting outside.  
  
"She will be all right." Dumbledore said. "She is learning to heal."  
  
They all numbly nodded.  
  
"Come, let us go and leave the girl to rest." Brutus said and they left the hospital wing. 


	17. Finally

Harry Potter belongs solely to J.K. Rowling. I merely enjoy writing fanfiction about that wonderful world. (  
  
  
  
**~The final chapter of this story. YAY! Finally! All re-done…there are some things I need to change…anachronistic things from way earlier chapters, because I stared this story out as a post-Harry Potter era but now it's a pre-Harry Potter era story, so…hehe, how the heck can Hagrid be teaching COMC when this is pre-HP??? So, little things like that will be changed. Other than that, I am DONE with this tale and now I can get started on the sequel. Ohhhh yeah, there's gonna be a sequel. Will it be as slam bang as this one? Eh, who knows? Was THIS story slam bang? LOL, I doubt it!! But enjoy anyway! Review pleeze!!~**  
  
Chapter 17: Finally  
  
It was now summer. Jo had finished taking all her exams and she was sitting in the Common Room, playing Wizard's Chess with Beck.  
  
"Check mate." Jo grinned slyly as her Queen beat up his King.  
  
"You cheated." Beck complained. Jo said nothing, but she just smiled.  
  
The feast had been the night before and the House Cup had gone to Slytherin. She grimaced even thinking about the gleeful faces the Slytherin crowd had held as the Cup was handed to them.  
  
Her trunk was now packed and by her side, but the Hogwarts Express wasn't to come until a while.  
  
The rest of the year had gone by in a blur. People did talk about her in the corridors, but she did not pay any heed to them. She'd take days off classes from time and again and she tried her best to study in each class. She had passed all her classes, but it wasn't her usual excellent grades, just normal, average type.  
  
"You've accomplished so much while going through so much," Annie had told her appraisingly. Jo had just shrugged.  
  
And now it was time to go. One year since the whole muck up had begun.  
  
"What're you thinking about?" asked Beck. Jo shook her head.  
  
"Nothing important."  
  
"All right." He nodded.  
  
"Ready to go, mates?" Ross joined them cheerily. "We're about to leave."  
  
"I'm all ready!" Beck said as he lifted his trunk.  
  
"Yeah, let's go." Jo smiled a bit.  
  
They brought their trunks to the main entrance and they were loaded into the carriages that took them into Hogsmeade.  
  
Dumbledore bid her goodbye, telling her to take care of herself and warning her to let time heal.  
  
"You will feel that it is almost a dream one day," He said gently and all Jo did was nod.  
  
They reached the train and put their luggage into one compartment which they shared all to themselves.  
  
"Guess we're going home," Annie said, a little sadly.  
  
"Yeah," Ross nodded. "I can't believe a year's gone by so fast."  
  
"Well, next year's our last year!" Beck grinned happily.  
  
"Finally." Jo added. "I've been waiting for that since I first arrived."  
  
They all laughed.  
  
The trolley lady came with food and they all shared Pumpkin Pasties and Chocolate Frogs and felt quite sick as the train rolled into King's Cross.  
  
"There's my aunt!" Annie said as she pointed out a squat witch in green robes with yellow polka dots. "I'll owl you in the summer! Take good care, all of you!"  
  
She gave them all a hug and walked away to meet her aunt.  
  
Ross saw his parents and bid Jo and Beck goodbye.  
  
"Your mum and dad coming?" Beck asked. Jo shook her head.  
  
"I'm hoping my grandfather will," She said.  
  
"Ah. Well, my sister should be here anytime soon."  
  
They talked for a while about Quidditch and meeting up in the summer with Annie and Ross also.  
  
"Somewhere in England," Jo quickly said as he asked about place. Beck paused and nodded.  
  
"Oy, there's my sister!" He waved his hands and a young witch with dark blonde hair smiled at him and started walking over to him.  
  
"You'll be okay?" He asked as Jo stood waiting for someone to come pick her up.  
  
"Yeah." Jo nodded.  
  
"Good. Oh hi Kat," He kissed his sister on the cheek. "This is my friend, Jo."  
  
"How do you do?" Kat smiled amiably. Jo said her hello.  
  
"Well, I'll owl you. Take care Jo, and bye."  
  
"'Bye." Jo said as Beck and Kat slowly walked away.  
  
Platform Nine and Three Quarters was slowly dwindling. In a matter of minutes, the Hogwarts Express left. Only a few wizards and witches stood waiting for the next train. Still no one came to pick up Jo.  
  
Finally, one of their servicemen arrived and apologised for being late.  
  
"Quite all right," Jo smiled slightly at the man as he lifted the trunk.  
  
"I'll get the trunk," Jo said. The man smiled gratefully and they made their way out of the barrier and into King's Cross and to the car which would lead them home.  
  
Finally. 


End file.
